A Monster's Emotions
by Sanru
Summary: Though he really couldn’t call them that emotionless, the things eyes had to be wide judging by how the purple mask was fitted to its face. The purple tails of the mask fell over its hunched shoulders to rest against its chest.


_Disclaimer: I think everyone knows the drill. I don't own them so don't sue me yadda yadda yadda…_

A Monster's Emotions

He moved swiftly, bending down to create the smallest target possible for any unknown enemy fire. He zigged and zagged back and forth through the tunnel trying not to create any form of pattern that could possibly be seen and used against him in combat. He silently cursed his equipment which rustled and thumped noisily against his side. Anything in the tunnels could hear him coming with all the commotion his equipment made as he double timed through the tunnels.

_-Vincent. Report.-_

He paused behind a rather large pile of refuse and began to slowly scan the area around him, thankful for the night vision goggles that were built into his visor. It would do him little good to be ambushed by something when he was talking over his comm link to his commander. After a quick but thorough search of his surrounding area he lifted his hand to the side of his helmet using his knee to help balance his gun. Pressing on the small button located right above his ear, he spoke into the microphone placed on the inside of the gasmask that hid his face from prying eyes. His voice sounded out barely above a whisper but he knew that Sergeant Briggs would hear every word he said. "I haven't seen or hear anything out of the ordinary, Sir"

_-Keep a sharp lookout. Delta Team reported injuring one of them before their link went dead. There's no telling which way those things went so report in the second you see one. Only engage if you have a clear shot. Understood?-_

Without even thinking of it, Vincent nodded his head and -only after a second when he realized his commanding officer couldn't see it- responded with a curt, "Affirmative. Vincent out." Now that his brief exchange with his sergeant was done, his hand immediately went down to the barrel of his gun, lifting it with ease as he went around the pile of trash in the tunnel. His approach to the mission had now changed. Instead of moving quickly through the tunnels, he was going slower keeping the gun raised and at ready as he listened and looked for anything out of the ordinary.

As he moved through the tunnels his mind drifted to the past week. It had been a very important week in his life. Not only had he been promoted to a Private First Class but his wife had given birth. A healthy happy baby boy named Isaac was now waiting at home for him with his wife. The birth had gone off without a hitch and now, more than ever, he wanted to be back home with his small family. He reminded himself that it would only be another week of active duty and then he could go home for six months. Six months of spending quality time with his loved ones.

A noise caught his attention and brought him of out of his thoughts. It almost sounded like water being splashed, as if someone had stepped in a puddle. He crept backwards till he was pressed up against the wall partially hidden by the slight recess that held a ladder leading up to the surface. He aimed his gun down the tunnel, towards where the noise had originated from and listened closely as his eyes scanned the dark and gloomy sewer tunnel. Part of him hoped it was nothing, that he had just been hearing things, but another part, the part that craved to be recognized in the eyes of his superior officers, hoped it was something.

What happened next happened so fast that for the briefest moment he thought he was hallucinating. Something appeared and then vanished from his line of sight as it ran down the tunnel that the tunnel he was in connected with. He had heard that these things were fast but he didn't realize that they were that fast. It had been in his line of sight for barely a second but he didn't think he would ever get that image out of his mind. It had been short and bulky but its girth did little to slow it down. It wasn't running as much as it appeared to be jumping through the tunnel, landing and hopping forward again and again. It had been completely silent as it moved by, like a wraith or a ghost. He felt himself swallow to ease the sudden dryness in his throat.

That was his target.

He waited for a moment, listening to make sure there wasn't any more of those things following the first. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with two of them and from the briefing he received before this mission he knew that these things typical stayed in pairs or grouped together whenever possible. After a span of fifteen seconds and not a sign of any other form of life from the tunnel before him, he headed out much the same as he had the first part of his mission. Double timing it down to where the tunnels connected, staying low and silently cursing his equipment for the barest wisps of noise that it made.

When he reached the end of the tunnel, he crouched down and slowly peered around the corner. The tunnel appeared completely empty and he debated whether he had seen something or if his mind was playing tricks on him. After another careful scan of the surrounding area, he moved out into the tunnel, keeping his gun at ready and trying not to feel vulnerable as he moved low to the ground. There was no available cover in this tunnel compared to the last one. He was completely in the open. If it hadn't been for his duty to investigate the passing of the phantom he had seen, he would never had ventured out into the open.

It didn't take him long to find the tracks in the slime that covered the floor of the tunnel. The small build up of mud would no doubt be washed away in the next rainstorm. An event which was supposes to happen later that night if he recalled correctly. Before he headed down the tunnel, he looked at the oddly shaped foot prints, regarding them curiously. They were about the length of his own foot but appeared wider by at least two inches. The mud also showed the prominent difference between their feet. Where he had five toes, this thing only had two large ones.

His raised his head, tracing the path of the two-toed footprints. Something on the ground caught his eye. He moved forward again, listening for anything out of the ordinary as he took two steps forward before crouching down and examining the muddy ground again. Blood. There were only a few drops but it was blood. Judging by how it was spaced between the sets of footprints, his phantom was bleeding but not too seriously. There were only a few drops here and there but it had been obviously wounded very recently. He briefly recalled his brief conversation with his sergeant. This had to be the one that Delta Team had wounded.

Without waiting another moment, he hustled down the tunnel. He kept his gun at ready as he hurried through the tunnel. Occasionally his eyes would look to the ground, making sure he was on the right trail. Daydreams of promotions and gratification floated through his head on more than one occasion. He found himself violently shaking his head occasionally to rid himself of such thoughts. He wasn't the kind of guy who counted the eggs in his basket ahead of time but the small desire of being given an even higher rank wouldn't leave his head. If he was given a higher rank it was possible to request a desk job and be able to go home to his family every night.

A splash caught his attention from further down the tunnel. He instantly fell to one knee and brought his gun up, scanning the tunnel before him. He was coming up to another intersecting tunnel and by the sounds of it the noise had come from the left branch of the tunnel. Slowly he got back up to his feet and walked down the tunnel making no noise as he held his gun loosely but ready for anything that could happen. He couldn't help it as his breath and heart beat picked up the pace, making him quietly pant as his heart thudded almost painfully in his chest.

As adrenaline continued to be pumped through his veins, he heard what could only be described as water lapping against something solid. He pressed his back against the wall of the tunnel he was in and took three deep breaths to force himself to relax. Ever so slowly he peeked around the corner of the tunnel and into the passageway beyond. He had been fully expecting that thing to be looking back at him. He had been told by those few who had survived an encounter with them that they had an unnatural ability to know when they were being followed or when an attack was coming at their back.

However the tunnel he was looking into appeared empty. It looked dilapidated, much like the first tunnel he was in. Piles of garbage and what appeared to be chunks of the ceiling littered the ground. There were plenty of places for the thing to hide behind he realized. There was ample cover even for something as large as it in the tunnel but after a moment of not moving and just watching there was no movement. No sound. There was nothing alive in that tunnel. He looked back towards the other half of the tunnel perplexed. Had he merely been hearing things? Had the phantom really gone down the other tunnel and he had just heard the echo? He was about to move to the other side of the tunnel only to be brought up short when he heard water being sloshed around again.

He turned and looked down the tunnel again. Still nothing but he knew what he had heard and it wasn't an echo. Slowly and cautiously he stepped around the corner keeping his gun raised and pointing down the tunnel incase that thing leapt at him from behind any of the obstacles on the tunnel's floor. Suddenly remembering something that he had heard during the briefing, he aimed the gun up at the ceiling, looking for anything out of the ordinary hiding up on the pipes. These things were tricky, using their terrain to heighten their chances for victory at every chance they got. After being assured the there was nothing hiding on the ceiling, he continued down the tunnel looking for any signs of the creature. He couldn't even locate any more of the two-toed footprints which was beginning to eat away at his confidence. Did he go the wrong way after all?

He was just about to go back and locate the footprints again when he noticed a depression in the wall that seemed to merge into the floor. There was something about it that caught it as odd though he couldn't quiet place his finger on why. He knelt next to the odd depression as he looked at it thoughtfully. There was definitely something out of place about it. On a whim, he reached out and cautiously put his hand on the floor of the depression only to have his gloved hand be slowly swallowed up by the water that filled it. He thought of the water that had been sloshed around earlier and as he looked at the depression more closely he could just barely make out the mostly submerged tunnel that led back into the darkness, even with his night vision goggles he couldn't see back into the black abyss before him.

While he stared into the darkness, wishing that he at least had an idea of what was lurking in there. He couldn't help but wonder how the creature had gotten over there without leaving any footprints on the ground. He thought about the layout of the tunnel and realized that it would have been quiet easy for it to get over to the tunnel. The debris that were scattered about were close enough together that it could have jumped from pile to pile. The pipes on the ceiling could have even been utilized. It could have moved along a pipe swing hand over hand as it traveled down the tunnel. Congratulating himself on his hypothesis, his self praise was dashed when he realized he was going to have to follow the creature into the water filled passage.

Repeating to himself that the promotion would be more than worth it, he slowly slid into the water trying hard not to let more than a few ripples crease the black smooth surface. He tried his hardest not to make any noise, he didn't want that thing to know it was being followed. His efforts did not go unrewarded as he was able to slip into the water with almost no noise. The water in the tunnel was higher than he thought it was. The cold water lapped at his chest, trying to find a way through his waterproofed outfit to no avail. Silently he was grateful for not being soaked but he did wish that he had another layer of insulation. The water was cold. With his gun raised and ready he began to move into the darkness, cautiously placing his feet to avoid tripping and ending up submerged in the water. Not only could all that water potentially jam his gun but it would make a lot of noise and alert his prey to the fact that it was being followed.

He had only taken five steps when a commotion sounded through out the tunnel he was in. He froze listening as the water was thrashed about and sloshed. It was like the sound of someone climbing out of the water and the water did not like the fact that its hold was being shaken off so carelessly. He continued to listen with bated breath as the water began to calm back down. A very human like curse floated through the air in a pain filled voice. That, he thought, was odd. How could a mindless alien suppose know such common human swear words?

As the water calmed back down, he continued forward again, even more wary than before. Now he knew that the phantom was in the tunnel too. The adrenaline was pumping through his body so fast now that he wasn't sure if he was shivering from the cold water or the anticipation of the end of the hunt. He had to admit that the phantom had been a good adversary and he silently wished for all his hunts to go like this.

The tunnel turned to the left and he found himself stepping out into a small chamber that looked like it had once been part of a tunnel that had caved in. The chest high water almost completely filled the chamber and rocks were jutting out of the walls at irregular intervals. His eyes scanned the chamber, basking in wonder at it all. Even through the night vision which was casting odd shadows here and there, the small room was impressive though small was hardly a good term for it. It was by no means massive but it was a good ten foot by twelve foot area which was the size of a standard bedroom. As he scanned over the room again he noticed that one of the rocks was moving ever so slightly. He realized with a pounding heart that it had to be the creature he had been chasing.

He stared at the indistinct blob for a moment before acting. For some reason, he didn't initially open fire on it like he had been trained to. Instead he turned on the flashlight built into the rifle's barrel and shouted "Freeze!" as if he was in some kind of action thriller movie. Like it was programmed to, the sudden flare of light turned the night vision off automatically so he wasn't blinded by the green glare that would have filled the visor. He felt completely ridiculous after acting like he was a movie character but his self criticism vanished as he got his first good look at the phantom he had been chasing.

It was green, which was the first thing he noticed, just like a stereotypical alien should be. As his eyes continued to play over the form before him he changed his assessment. Green wasn't accurate enough. It was a shade of green, yes, but it was closer to that of an olive green. Its chest and stomach was covered in what appeared to be yellowish plating, like armor that had to have some amount of flexibility to it judging on how the creature was slightly hunched forward. He could distinctly see the shell that cover the creature's back as it peeked over its shoulders at him. Even if someone was able to sneak up on the human-like turtle, a direct hit to the back would probably do little more than annoy it. He noticed that it wore no clothes but it did have on a pair of elbow and knee pads while a belt encircled its waist. There was what appeared to be a leather wrapped bracelet on each wrist which reminded him of the wraps he wound around his own wrists right before he was going to lift weights. The blood on his arm drew his attention next. A deep cut appeared to be on its upper right arm and the blood was covering most of its arm, thigh and than dribbled down onto the ledge next to it and finally into the water which its lower legs were dangling into.

Almost hesitantly he lifted his eyes to look at the creature's face and he felt himself hold his breath in astonishment. Its skull was shaped differently than that of a humans head, appearing rounder and larger around. Where a humans skull was more of an oval the creature skull appear to be more like a square with a large cheeks. Its mouth was at least twice the size of a humans, spreading out so much so that he wasn't one hundred percent sure if the creature had what could be considered cheeks. At that point the mouth was partially open in surprise and for a moment he wondered if this thing had ever been caught unaware before. When he looked up to catch the creature's eyes with his own, he found himself facing two white pools. He almost panicked right there but he had been trained to deal with such things and it wasn't the first time he had found himself staring into emotionless eyes. Though he really couldn't call them that emotionless, the things eyes had to be wide judging by how the purple mask was fitted to its face. The purple tails of the mask fell over its hunched shoulders to rest against its chest.

His finger was resting over the trigger but he couldn't make himself pull it. The creature looked like a startled deer in the headlights of an oncoming car. It definitely wasn't expecting to be caught like this, injured and cornered. There was something else though, that seemed to pull at his heartstrings more than any of the other creatures he had brought into headquarters. Unlike the others, it was wearing its emotions on its sleeve. It was scared, hurt, surprised, fearful, confused, dazed, the list of emotions he could see conflicting across the face before him was never ending. He felt like he was looking at another human rather than a five foot bipedal turtle. What really conflicted him was that the creature reminded him of the time when he had caught his four year old niece swiping a piece of frosting off the birthday cake several years back. Part of him was disgusted that he was personifying this thing before him but the longer he looked at it the more he decided that he was right.

He wasn't looking at an alien.

He was looking at a terrified kid that knew he/she was deep trouble.

He was so caught up in his study of the creature he had pinned to the wall that he almost jumped a foot into the air when his radio crackled to life. _–Vincent. Report.- _He cursed his Sergeant lightly under his breath as he reached for the comm switch on the side of his helmet. He was glad that the creature was blinded by the flashlight enough that it couldn't see that he had taken his hand away from the trigger. He was leaving himself open but he knew if he didn't answer his comm soon he entire squad would descend on this area searching for him. He watched the creature closely and was surprised to find its expression had switched completely.

He was no longer looking at a terrified kid, instead he found himself being glared at by a battle harder warrior. The mask did an admirable job of creating the simple glare to look more threatening as it formed to where he assumed the creature eyebrows (if it had any) would be. Its teeth were clenched together and it wouldn't have surprised him if the thing had started growling at him like a caged and hungry tiger. The over all look was rather intimidating. He felt himself swallow against a suddenly dry throat. He was glad that the thing couldn't get a very good look at him with the flash light in its eyes because he just knew that it was waiting for an opening to lunge at him.

_-Vincent. Report.-_

The urgency in his commander's voice caused him to push the button that opened up his comm link. "Vincent here," his eyes played over the creature before him again. He could literally see the muscles tense as it ready to spring. He wondered if the creature knew what he was saying and than quickly dismissed that notion. Of course it understood what he was saying, it had swore like a sailor would have earlier.

Briefly the thought of a promotion swirled through his head. All he had to do was to pull the trigger and stun the creature. Then it would just be a matter of securing it and hauling it back to headquarters. He knew that his Sergeant knew he was looking for a way to get a desk job so he could be with his family. He knew that Briggs would give him the honor of saying he captured the creature on his own. This was his chance. His promotion was glaring back at him, daring him to make the next move, but he couldn't make his finger go back to the trigger. "All I've found are a couple of half submerged tunnels, other that that there is nothing out of the ordinary, Sir."

He had to smile at the now dumbfounded expression on the creature's face. It looked positively shell shocked he realized and had to force himself not to snicker into his comm link. Sergeant Briggs would think that he was off his rocker if he had done that, which would've led to a psychiatric evaluation and, depending on the results, a possible honorable discharge from the E.P.F. As it was, if anyone ever found out he had let this thing go it would mean a complete strip of his rank, jail time and no chance of ever seeing his family again. This was just going to have to be his little secret.

_-Alright. Fall back and we'll regroup. Maybe one of the other squads caught those things trail.-_

"Rodger that, Sir. Vincent out." He let his hand go back to the trigger as he looked at the creature. Its head was now cocked off to one side as it regarded him curiously. He suddenly had the strangest feeling that the creature could now see his every move despite the flashlight blaring brightly in its eyes. He began to back away slowly, keeping the barrel aimed at the thing. It didn't seem like it was intent on attacking him anymore but he still wanted to play it safe. There was no telling if the creature would spare his life after he had spared its. He watched as the creature leaned forward slightly so that it could mark his backward progress through the tunnel that lead out to the main sewer line.

He continued moving backwards only turning around to climb out of the water filled tunnel and back into the much drier tunnel from before. The minute he was righted he turned back towards the tunnel and switched off the light on the barrel of the rifle. The last thing he wanted was it to be easier to be spotted. He knew that if that one was hurt than there was a good chance that the other three were somewhere nearby. In the briefing he remembered hearing that the creatures were very protective if one of them was hurt. He realized how lucky he was not to have been snuck up on when he had the one cornered in the flooded room. Then he would have never seen his son.

He waited for a moment where the two tunnels connected to make sure the thing didn't come after him. After a few minutes of watching the tunnel cautiously as well as his surrounding area, he headed back down the tunnel from the way he had come from initially. He moved as fast as he could, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be as far away from the thing back in the flooded room. His mind played tricks on him, whispering at him that he was being followed, that one of the other ones had seen him. He fully expected more than just a few times to feel something land on his back and tackle him into the muddy slime that covered the ground under his feet. However, nothing happened to him on his trip back to rejoin his squad though he could never quite shake the feeling that something was watching him.

As he stood there surrounded by the nine other members of his squad as they awaited orders he found himself unable to listen to the conversation that was surrounding him. His thoughts kept going back to the human turtle in the flooded room. It had been hurt and was bleeding rather heavily. Maybe he should've given it something to wrap that cut with, and what about a disinfectant? They were in a sewer after all. He had to shake his head at that one, he was luck he hadn't lost his head in the confrontation with that thing. He had to hope that it was going to be okay and be satisfied that he had at least bought it the time to get further away from the patrols out searching for him.

He still couldn't believe that he was worried about its well being like he was. He guessed that the only reason he was so worried about it was because he had compared it to a child. He was a new father and he had never looked kindly on anything involving an injured child. He assumed that it was only his parental concern that was allowing for his mind to be consumed by the creature.

Suddenly the entire area fell into chaos as Sergeant Briggs' helmet was hit in the side, causing it to dent inward from the force of the impact. The entire squad turned as one towards where the attack had come from while the commanding officer fell into the mud. They were prepared to open fire only to have a pair of pained yells coming from those at the rear of the group. He turned back towards the yells worried about those behind him. All he received for his worried was a sudden and lighting fast strike that hit his right arm. Whatever it was it felt like he had been hit with a stick but it had been moving to fast just to be that. There was a sickening crunch from his arm and he found himself letting go of his rifle with that hand, unable to hold it up anymore. He knew his arm was broken, he could practically feel the separation in the bone as he tucked it up against his stomach instinctively trying to protect it.

He brought his head up to see what was happening only to see green blobs dancing in his night vision. His breath caught in his throat when he realized that two of the forms where not human. They looked like the turtle man and he felt the bile rise in his throat when he realized he had to have been followed. That feeling of being watched as he had fallen back to his squad had been real. For a moment he felt betrayed. Had the injured one sent his friends after him? After he had spared his life? Anger replaced his fear and he wished he had the ability to go back in time and shoot that creature right between the eyes.

Movement in the corner of his visor caught his attention and he turned to get a better look at what was coming at him. He barely had time to register the stupidity of that as his visor shattered inward, raining harsh Plexiglas onto his face. He rolled with the force of the impact as he closed his eyes. He could feel the glass like substance cutting into his cheeks in places but he was relieved not to feel any damage done to his eyes. He stumbled to regain his footing and opened his eyes only to meet darkness and shadows. He no longer had the comfort of night vision, he was effectively fighting blind. Even if he could fire his gun he wouldn't dare, fearing that he might hit one of his comrades on accident.

He knew that whatever had attacked him was coming in for more. He brought the rifle up to try and block any kind of incoming attack and felt it hit something metal as it rang against the side of his rifle. There was another metallic clang as he turned to face the shadow that was his opponent and suddenly the rifle was torn from his grasp. He watched as the shadow seemed to flip his guns away with practice ease and, for a brief second, left its self open. He didn't have the time to grab the knife in his boot, he knew that, so instead he leapt forward and threw as much of his weight as possible into the punch that connected solidly with its face.

It grunted and he was glad to see that it stumbled backwards. His brief moment of happiness was shattered as the shadow let out a low growl that sounded both angry and dangerous. He barely had time to think that he shouldn't have hit when what felt like a battering ram connected to the side of his helmet. He heard the creaks and snaps as the helmet was sent flying from his head to ricochet off the wall behind him. His neck was a mass of pain as it protested the sudden whiplash that it had received. Through bleary, tear filled eyes he noticed that the other two shadows had already finished up with the rest of his squad. He wondered if there was anyone left alive other than himself. The hand that grabbed his jacket reminded him that he probably wouldn't be alive much longer to find out.

He found himself jerked around to face his opponent again and found himself silently wishing that that hit had knocked him out. The glare that the purple one had given him when it was bathed in the light was nothing compared to this darker version that faced him now. The shadows complete hid its features other than the white clenched teeth and the burning white eyes that seemed to piece into his very soul. It was like he was staring at a demon rather than what he knew was the shadowy figure of an oversized turtle. He could just barely make out the creatures outline and as he was jerked closer to it he noticed in the very faint light that the mask tails that rested down near where it shoulders should be was a deep red. He also saw it pull back its free arm and knew that he wasn't going to make it out of this one without a fractured jaw or skull in the very least.

He saw the fist jerk forward and he instantly closed his eyes wondering if he was about to die. His thoughts immediately went to his son, Isaac, who he had ever seen in person, and to his beautiful wife who he could only hope wouldn't grieve over him to long and find someone else to act as a good father figure for his son. His thoughts and prayers were interrupted by the sudden smacking sound of flesh meeting flesh but he was confused as to why he didn't feel the hit. Hesitantly he opened his eyes to look back out into the murky blackness that surrounded him.

There was another shadow standing next to his attacker holding back the fist that he knew had been coming at his head a few seconds before. The one holding him had its head turned slightly to the side and he could almost hear the tension that pasted between the two. Clearly, his attacker wasn't too happy about being interrupted in his attack. After a moment of silence passing between the two shadows, he watched as the fist was slowly lowered. He didn't have a chance to let out a breath of relief, though, as the second shadow's hand took a fist full of his jacket and pulled him out of the other's grasped. He was pulled into the poor excuse for light that flittered in through a grating above and pulled nearly eye to eye with the shadow holding him.

It was the one he had cornered he realized but the purple mask that had been covering his eyes was gone. He found himself staring into what appeared to be a pair of eyes the same color brown as his own and briefly he wondered if he would ever find out if his son's eyes were brow or not. Even without his mask the creature was intimidating. It was frowning, causing the shadows to trace along the lines of his face but he could still easily see the thoughtful and almost concerned look in its eyes. If anything it looked more confused rather than thoughtful, as if he was a complex equation that couldn't be solved without spending hours trying to work through it. His eyes fell along its body in a daze as he tried to get over the fact that he was still alive. He looked down at where the deep gash was and he was glad to see that its missing mask was wrapped securely around its arm.

"Why didn't you shot me when you had the chance?"

He was brought out of his dazed and looked back at the creature as it spoke. The voice was obviously male and was quiet and reserved, full of confusion and a desire to learn the truth. He hadn't realized that the creature holding him could sound so human. He had heard its muffled voice before but now that he could actually hear it he couldn't help shake the feeling that the thing holding him was well educated. It sounded like a scholar or a scientist or the person that sat at the front of the classroom back in high school because they honestly want to learn. It sounded so human that he couldn't help blink at it for a moment stupidly.

Deciding that he should say something before it lost its patients with him, he moved slowly, bring his hand up to help alleviate the pressure against his throat. He caught movement off to the side but before he could even look that way, the creature's eyes darted off to the side and seemed to take on a harden look before returning to him and smoothing out again into a more peaceful expression. It was almost like this thing was trying to encourage him to talk, to relax and not be scared by the other three shadows surrounding them. His hand finally reached its destination and he clasped its fist, pulling back enough so that he could talk. He took a few seconds to gasp in several breaths of air before responding in a pain filled and croaky voice, "I didn't join the Earth Protection Force to hunt down children."

Whatever it had been expecting for an answer, it obviously hadn't been expecting that one. Again that confused look passed over its face and he heard the sounds of the other three reacting to his answer too. Other than the light intake of breaths and a shuffle of feet they didn't make any other noise to indicate a reaction but he had heard it and that was all that mattered to him.

The creature suddenly began to walk forward and he found himself backing up with it. It kept a firm grip on his jacket to make sure he didn't try anything and only stopped when his shoulders lightly bounced against the wall behind him. He couldn't quiet stifle a gasp at the pain that shot down his arm. His jacket was pulled downward and he felt his knees buckle and than fold under him as he was forced to sit on the ground which he was glad to find was the dry access way that ran alongside the sewer's walls. The creature let go of his jacket and he felt its fingers dance along his injured arm for a moment only to stop when he sucked in a pained breath. A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder and he opened his eyes to look at the shadow before him. He wished that they were still in the light of the grating. He wanted to know what this thing was thinking. "Your arm is fracture and you have a minor concussion. Can you radio for someone to come get you and your friends?"

He let his eyes close because there was nothing to see but darkness anyways. He gave a stiff nod of his head and said, "Yeah, if you could give me my helmet." He was surprised when his good hand was taken and the smooth roundness of his helmet was placed in it. He opened his eyes and looked at the shadow he now held as if to assure himself that it was there. The creature before him stood up and took several steps back. He let his eyes close and he rested his head against the wall behind him. "I'll give you a head start."

"That won't be necessary." He opened his eyes again. Confused about the creature's last sentence only to find the tunnel he was in empty of the fighting shadows. He blinked and looked around the shadowed area but could not discern any life around him. It was like they had just vanished. The only evidence that they had been in the area was his battered comrades and his injured arm that was quiet happy in telling him that he had not dreamed that entire encounter. Balancing his helmet on his leg, he took a moment to rub at his sore eyes with the hand on his good arm. It had been a very long night.

"Thank you for caring," a voice seemed to whisper in his ear. He looked about the tunnel again only to find it as bare as before. He knew he had heard that thing's voice in his ear yet here he was alone. It was decidedly creepy in his opinion. He let his head rest back against the wall again and began to count. He would give them a five minute head start before he called in some back up.


End file.
